Audit reform – Two minds are better than one June 2, 2021 The UK might not have won Eurovision 2021, indeed it suffered the humiliation of scoring nil points, but it has certainly led the current race on audit and wider corporate governance reform. The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) issued its consultation ‘Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance’ in March with a [...]
EY to centralise power in Europe in break from typical Big Four model June 1, 2021 EY will centralise power in a new European executive team, in a move that breaks away from the typical model employed by Big Four firms. The European executive team will pool resources from across the region, the Financial Times first reported. Big Four firms typically operate a federal model, with profits and resources largely kept [...]
‘Risky’ FTSE firms could be shunned by worried auditors fearing backlash May 29, 2021 There are worries that the crushing weight of public criticism combined with record-breaking fines could see perceived ‘risky’ FTSE companies shunned by auditors. Following large-scale collapses like Carillion and Patisserie Valerie, the audit sector has faced harsh criticism, having come under both the media and government’s spotlight for failing to do their jobs properly. According [...]
Audit watchdog admits it was not up to the job amid major company collapse May 27, 2021 The boss of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has admitted the audit regulator was asleep at the wheel following large scale business collapses that shook confidence in the sector. Sir Jon Thompson, chief executive of the FRC, said he agreed with criticism of the regulator following the collapse of Carillion and Patisserie Valerie. Speaking to [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? May 19, 2021 City A.M.‘s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Ex Co-op CEO joins Boomin’s board Property site Boomin has bagged itself a retail veteran this week, who is set to join the board as a non-executive director at its next [...]
Net Zero: New oil, gas and coal development must end this year, IEA says May 18, 2021 New oil and gas field development and extraction must end this year, while no new coal-fired power stations can be built if the Earth is to stay within safe limits of global warming, the world’s leading energy organisation has said today. Halting developments is fundamental to meeting the net-zero emissions goal by 2050, to keep [...]
Watchdog gives UHY Hacker Young a slap on the wrist for shoddy audit May 13, 2021 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has given what it described as a “severe reprimand” to UHY Hacker Young for its audit of a Malaysia-based rubber manufacturer. The FRC declared UHY Hacker Young’s 2016 audit of Inch Kenneth Kajang Rubber (IKKR) was unsatisfactory, and as a result told the accountancy firm to give staff involved in [...]
Ministers to start searching for new audit watchdog chair May 7, 2021 The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will shortly kick off the search for the new chair of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). BEIS will advertise for the role in the coming weeks, Sky News first reported. The FRC’s current interim chair Keith Skeoch has reportedly had his contract extended in recent weeks [...]
Three-quarters of new FRC panel members being ex-Big Four causes interest concerns May 5, 2021 The majority of individuals recently recruited to the FRC’s advisory panel have at some point worked for a Big Four firm, raising concerns about their objectivity when it comes to making recommendations that are in the public interest. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) recently announced 19 new appointments to its advisory panel, a body established [...]
Recalibrating the corporate ecosystem May 4, 2021 Atapestry of reform is needed to recalibrate the corporate ecosystem. It’s not just about audit reform. It is time to recalibrate the corporate ecosystem. Prior tothe publication of the BEIS consultation, ICAS issued a paper exploring how various recommendations from the Brydon, Kingman and CMA reviews might be combined to deliver a tapestry of reform [...]